Why are Dwarves Scottish?

[Shadowslayer]

And if the dwarven cleric casts Detect Lie and catches someone in a falsehood, do they say "Stop lyin', will ya? You hoser! What to make us look bad, eh?"

Elf: "hey...are you friendly?"
Dwarf: "No way, eh?"

 

[Agback]

Poul Anderson had a dwarf (probably more of a gnome in D&D terms) in Three Hearts and Three Lions with a Scottish accent so strong (written phonetically) I had to read it aloud to understand what he was saying most of the time. A lot of other D&D conventions come from this book, so why not Scottish dwarves.

Good point!

And why might Anderson have cast his dwarf as a Scot?

Well:

1) The dwarves are misers, or at least hoarders of moneyed wealth. And the Scots have a reputation for frugality.

2) The dwarves are artificers par excellence. From about 1800 to the 1950s at least the Scots were hugely over-represented in the profession of engineering, inventing everything from the Watt steam engine to the Macadamised road.

3) The dwarves have a clannish affinity for family and suspicious of everyone non-family. People vaguely remember that the Scots retained clan government for longer than their neighbours (down to at least the late 18th century).

4) Dwarves live in mountains. Scotland is a mountainous country (by British standards).

Anderson made the link because it was apt.

 

[Agback]

I don't think it was really around before the Jackson films, actually.

I wrote an essay about it for the newsletter of the UNSW RPA newsletter in 1983.

 

[TimSmith]

British and short pretty much describes a lot of scots!

Anyway my Dwarves come from yorkshire by eck! (helping to prolong the prototype of the penny pinching yorkshireman).

Snap! (As an exiled Yorkshireman born and bred, I am happy to play my Dwarf with a Yorkshire accent. And like a true Yorkshireman, he is tough and bloody minded )

And before anyone points out that Yorkshire is the only accent I can do, I should point out that I can do a fair British Southern yokel (as my Dad's from Dorset) and a good French from my degree and a year over there Hmm, maybe I should introduce his French accented cousin next time!

 

[howandwhy99]

Why are Dwarves Scottish?

Because they are better than all the other races of course!!

 

[genshou]

Dwarves are Scottish because Scottish are COOL! 'Nuff said. I don't know what everyone else is posting about; silly people.

~Timothy Campbell, of the Campbell clan of Argyll

 

[John Q. Mayhem]

IMC dwarves are Scandinavian. Also due to the fact that its hard for me to bring a Scottish accent to a german speaking game table Aaaand...Scandinavians are the ones drinking insanely large quantities of beer and strong aquavit

"And lads? Avoid aquavit. Avoid it. The Devil brews it and the Danes drink it, God knows how!"

 

[Zander]

Good point!

And why might Anderson have cast his dwarf as a Scot?

Well:

1) The dwarves are misers, or at least hoarders of moneyed wealth. And the Scots have a reputation for frugality.

2) The dwarves are artificers par excellence. From about 1800 to the 1950s at least the Scots were hugely over-represented in the profession of engineering, inventing everything from the Watt steam engine to the Macadamised road.

3) The dwarves have a clannish affinity for family and suspicious of everyone non-family. People vaguely remember that the Scots retained clan government for longer than their neighbours (down to at least the late 18th century).

4) Dwarves live in mountains. Scotland is a mountainous country (by British standards).

Anderson made the link because it was apt.

It's been quite some time since I read 3H3L but IIRC it isn't apt:

1) I don't recall Anderson's "dwarf" being particularly frugal or miserly. If he was, it certainly wasn't stressed.

2) He is an outdoorsmen living in a forest in harmony with nature and could speak with woodland animals. There was no mention of him having engineering or inventing skills. One of the other characters, a human, is an engineer however.

3) He was a bit suspicious of outsiders but there was no mention that I recall of clans or even families. He seemed to be alone.

4) Anderson's dwarf lives in a forest. There's nothing in Anderson's story to suggest the forest was a mountain one.

 

[Oates]

Blame Tolkien.

Hobbits - English
Elves - Welsh
Dwarves - Scottish

Humans...um...humans...?

I always thought that the elves were Finns.... crazy language and all.

 

[Prince of Happiness]

Dwarves are Scottish because Scottish are COOL! 'Nuff said. I don't know what everyone else is posting about; silly people.

~Timothy Campbell, of the Campbell clan of Argyll

I've met some dreadfully un-cool Scots in my time.